One of the school district’s focuses this 2025-2026 school year is attendance. In D99, there are some new rules concerning how attendance is recorded. Students are now required to scan their school IDs to get into the building and classes, allowing attendance to be monitored more easily.
“You cannot skip class. You have to be in class. The scanning in provides us lists of kids who are here for the day,” Principal Dr. Courtney Dement said. “We’re also able to see throughout the day if kids are not where they’re supposed to be. Our deans know who those kids are and can make sure they get to the right spot.”
In an email that Dement sent out to the upperclassmen Sept. 15 it states “Daily attendance rates for juniors and seniors are almost 3.5% lower than our underclassmen.”
When a student fails to come to class on time consistently, they will lose school privileges such as parking on campus and attending social events like homecoming. Another solution D99 has created is cutting the number of tardies allowed before consequences by five tardies.
“It used to be that students would receive consequences on their eleventh cumulative tardy. Now, that consequence begins at tardy number six,” Dement said.
While disciplinary action is used to motivate students to come into class, DGN also rewards students that are consistently on time to inspire more punctuality and participation from other students.
“Last year, we celebrated students with perfect attendance by giving out Positively North gear. Teachers also recognize and celebrate students who demonstrate excellent attendance. Our focus is on highlighting the benefits of consistent attendance,” Associate Principal for Staff and Students Patrick Fleming said.
This change in policy marks a notable difference in how the school handles tardiness. In fact, teachers have already noticed positive results from the higher standards placed on student attendance.
“I don’t have any students late to first hour this year, which is amazing. I think the fact that we’ve established this policy and we have the scanning makes a difference because last year, granted my classes were different, I feel we were too lax in our policies. I have felt a shift when we communicate with the deans that the concerns are being heard and addressed,” French teacher Kelly Houlihan said.
However, there is a disconnect between students and administrators concerning how the school is implementing these new attendance policies.
“Some people just don’t want to go to school in general, but if they’re trying their hardest, I don’t think it should be a problem. Especially in the morning if people are late to class, I think they should be let off the hook with that,” junior Lucas Thor said.
There are a variety of reasons why students don’t feel encouraged to keep their attendance record clean, or simply show up to school. This can vary from student to student depending on their personal experience.
“One factor that contributed to my bad attendance last year was that my grades weren’t that good and I felt like there was no point in trying since there was no way I could move my grades up,” junior Jude Rodriguez said.
Administration urges students to come into class not only for their grades, but to be a part of the DGN community.
“One message I want every student to hear is that we truly want you here. Your presence makes a difference to your classmates, your teachers, and to the school culture as a whole. Teachers invest a lot of effort in creating engaging lessons, and it’s most rewarding when students are there to learn, contribute, and grow alongside one another,” Fleming said.
